March Visitor 2017 - Constant Contactfiles.constantcontact.com/92bba02a001/3becb5ac-d... · 8:30am-10:30am: Delivery of Easter flowers to sanctuary. 9:00am Easter Breakfast setup

O’Fallon United Church of Christ

Volume XLIX No. 3 March 15th, 2017

HOLY WEEK SCHEDULE by Pastor Martha

Palm Sunday, April 9th

9:45am Palms will be handed out and the Sunday School will have a palm processional. 11:00am Easter Egg Hunt sponsored by the Youth Group

Maundy Thursday, April 13th:

7:00pm Table communion in the fellowship hall for everyone. Confirmands, faith partners and families are encouraged to attend. Everyone is welcome! Family worship, no nursery.

Good Friday, April 14th:

12:00pm PLEASE NOTE NEW TIME/EVENT: Service of scripture, hymns, and communion (no nursery) immediately followed by a Soup Luncheon in the hall sponsored by the Youth Group. 7:00pm Service of scripture, hymns, communion and special music by Handbell Choir; Chancel Choir. Nursery care is available.

Holy Saturday, April 15th:

8:30am-10:30am: Delivery of Easter flowers to sanctuary. 9:00am Easter Breakfast setup in fellowship hall by the Mary & Martha’s

Easter Sunday, April 16th:

7:45am-8:30am Early Easter service with flower processional and special music by Tarrah Vaupel (no nursery). 8:15am-9:15am Easter Breakfast in fellowship hall, sponsored by Mary & Martha Society. 9:45am-10:45am Easter Celebration & Communion with special music by Handbell Choir and Chancel Choir (Family Worship so there is no Sunday School; nursery available).

AGAPE FUND - FEBRUARY 2017

Donation sent to St. Vincent DePaul = $100.00 Agape Contributions for February 2017 = $63.00

The Mission of O’Fallon United Church of Christ

“We are called by Jesus Christ and empowered by the Holy Spirit to experience the stillspeaking God through worship and study of scriptures, and to respond to the cares of our neighbors near and far, for whom we seek justice and peace. We welcome the diversity of traditions, spiritual gifts and understandings among us. We encircle all with Christian love and support each other through all seasons of life. Whoever you are, wherever you are on life’s journey, you are welcome here.”

HELP KINDERCOTTAGE by Phil Wilhelm

If you are not already aware, the Illinois South Conference voted to stop funding Kindercottage in its annual budget this past year (including a few other mission organizations). Because of an already tight budget due to state cuts, Kindercottage normally only has money on hand for two months of spending. Each fundraiser is vital to keep the doors open. Please consider joining me Saturday April 1st,, 5pm at St. Paul Belleville at this fun night with a group of family and friends. If you would like to reserve tickets please call (618) 874-6505.

SCRIP UPDATE by Betty Kueker

Our profit for January was $57.81. February was $127.11. That gives us a total of $184.92. Orders for March are due on Sunday, March 19. They will be ready for pick up on Sunday, March 26. Spring is here gift cards work great for purchasing garden and out door supplies. Thanks for your continued support.

UCM PRAYER BREAKFAST by Flo Jeffreys

March 25th at 9am St. Nicholas church in O’Fallon

Page 2 THE VISITOR March 15th, 2017

MEMORIALS FOR FEBRUARY 2017

Connie Barnes Viola Carson Hilda Hamm Vernon Hamm, Sr. Arline Kassing Lil & Charles Krupp Gloria Puckett Total: $50,602.69

WORSHIP VOLUNTEERS

We have a new way for volunteers to sign up to serve during worship! It’s very simple and allows for greater flexibility for our volunteers in real time. All you have to do is go to the following website: http://www.signupgenius.com/go/8050a4daba72fa46-2016. You will be able to see all of the dates and positions available for the entire year and sign-up for whatever dates/slots that you would prefer! You can also visit our church website (www.ofallonucc.org) and click on the “Sign-Up Genius” logo on the homepage to sign-up.

Volunteer positions include: Greeters/Ushers, Layreaders, Sound/Projection System Operators and Refreshment Hosts. If you have any questions or need assistance with signing up, please speak with Tarrah and she will be happy to help you.

Volume XLIX No. 3 ofallonucc.org Page 3

Date Layreader Greeter/Usher Sound/

Projection

Refreshment Host

3/26/17

Derek Vallem

4/2/17 Lisa Thompson-

Gibson

4/9/17 Derek Vallem Mark Williams

4/14/17 1pm

4/14/17 7pm Janet Smith

4/16/17 7:45am

4/16/17 9:45am


MAUNDY THURSDAY TABLE COMMUNION

Everyone is welcome to attend the Maundy Thursday communion service around tables in the fellowship hall, at 7:00PM on April 13th. Children, families or individuals can all come. Since it is “family style”, there will be no nursery. Confirmands are expected to attend with their families and faith partners. You can still attend if you don’t make a reservation…but it would help with setup plans to have an idea of how many might be in attendance. Please indicate below if you intend to participate. Tear off the sign-up below and place in offering plate or call the church office. *********************************************************************** ___ I/we plan to attend to attend Maundy Thursday communion in fellowship hall. Name(s): ______________________________________ Number of adults: _____ Number of children: ________ Is a high chair needed?___ yes ___ no

EASTER LILIES, FLOWERS AND MEMORIALS

Everyone is invited to decorate the church sanctuary for Easter with a beautiful display of Easter lilies and spring flowers. You are invited to bring your own flower or have it delivered during open church hours. In lieu of flowers, you may also choose to give a financial gift in memory, in honor or in celebration of a special person or event (Easter gifts go to the General Fund).

Please bring/deliver your lily or flowers to the church on Thursday, April 13th (9am until 3pm);

Friday, April 14th (just before worship services); or on Saturday, April 15th (8:30am-10:30am while custodian is available). Clearly mark your name on your plant. Arrangements may be picked up after the 9:45 a.m. Easter Service or during office hours the week after Easter. The church office will be closed on Good Friday for bookkeeper vacation and on Monday, April 17th for other staff vacation.

For information below to be included in the Easter bulletins, it must be called in or this form returned to the church office no later than Tuesday, April 4th since bulletins are printed a week early. Call Tarrah Vaupel if you have any questions (632-3496) or email ([email protected]). ………….....................…………………………………………………………………………….. ___I will bring ____(#) Lilies or spring flowers ___I am making a special financial gift

IN MEMORY OF:_______________________________________________________________

IN HONOR OF:________________________________________________________________

IN CELEBRATION OF: _________________________________________________________

GIVEN BY: ___________________________________________________________________


WELCOME NEW MEMBERS & VISITORS

Please make sure you take time to greet our new members as they sit in the pews, invite them downstairs to fellowship after worship, send them a note of welcome, and do what you can to include them in church events. On February 5th during worship, we welcomed Nancy Little, Deb Horrell and Craig Frutiger into membership at OUCC. If anyone else is interested in joining the church, please let Pastor Martha know.

There are many others who have been coming to our worship as visitors in recent months—wonderful families and individuals! We are blessed that people are joyfully experiencing our worship service and getting to know our church family---so every member is asked to please take your turn to make sure they feel welcome and encourage them to participate in our fellowship. Every member is invited to take your turn to encourage friends and neighbors to join us for Sunday worship or come to church events.

The true way to be a welcoming church is not by leaving all the doors open in case someone happens to walk in. The true way to be a welcoming church is for all members to be actively invitational in bringing people to worship and for all members to actively engage newcomers by inviting them after worship to sit in conversation over refreshments in fellowship hall or by encouraging them to come to other events and activities at church. Everyone in the church has an opportunity each Sunday to share a friendly smile and a warm welcome—and that should not just occur at “the passing of the peace.” We will truly be a welcoming church when all members joyfully and intentionally demonstrate a “welcoming attitude” and reach out to those who are seeking a spiritual home at O’Fallon UCC.

...can be...

...could be...

...should be...

WE can do better!


COMMUNICATION LINKS There is always a lot of information coming from the national UCC, the Illinois South Conference UCC and related mission organizations like Kindercottage, Hoyleton, etc. If any flyers arrive from other churches or organizations, they are posted on the community bulletin board downstairs by the water fountain. We do not have capacity to re-create all flyers/communications/newsletters from all the various branches of mission and ministry, but you can find links to their sites on our church website or Facebook page. Anyone in-terested in receiving e-newsletters and communication from other organizations are wel-come to go to their websites and sign up directly with them. The UCC has a daily devo-tional email, the KYeP newsletter (Keeping You E-posted), Justice & Witness newslet-ter, etc. The ISC UCC has a “Weekly Connection” email. Stay connected with the wider church and find more information from these links:

Attention Schnucks shoppers! Blue Light special now happening at ALL grocery checkout lanes! O’Fallon UCC is now a registered and participating member of the eScrip program at Schnucks grocery stores! All you have to do is pick-up a Schnucks eScrip card in the check-out lane, register it online, choose O’Fallon UCC as your desig-nated non-profit organization, and present your registered card when checking out at each shopping trip. A percentage of what you spend on your groceries will come back to the church! It’s “free money” for our church! We currently have 31 supporters signed-up and the earning potential is unlimited! You can also sign-up for a card through the church office. Please speak with Tarrah if you have any questions. Happy shopping!


ONE GREAT HOUR OF SHARING by Stewardship & Mission Committee

On March 26th, we will take an offering for “One Great Hour of Sharing”, one of the 5 denominational mission offerings taken each year. We join not only with other UCC churches across the nation, but the One Great Hour of Sharing unites us with Christians from Church World Service and 9 other denominations: • American Baptist Church • African Methodist Episcopal Zion Church • Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) • Cumberland Presbyterian Church • Church of the Brethren • Presbyterian Church (USA) • Reformed Church in America • United Church of Christ • United Methodist Church

In the spirit of Christ, we are one. Around the world and across the ages, we are one. Through sharing our lives, prayers, and money, we are one with all of God’s beloved children.

Our partnership alone is worth celebrating; what we do together is even more inspiring. Our

giving is magnified beyond what any of us could do alone, when we serve together in the spirit of Christ.

For over 70 years, we, the UCC have worked with and through partnerships to serve God through our sharing, and in return we see the image of God who unites us all.

In the past year, natural disasters and political violence have disrupted communities, displacing people from their homes and livelihoods and exposing human-caused injustices that make a “new normal” difficult. Lack of access to health care and the empowerment of women create conditions that prevent communities from thriving. Chronic hunger, exaggerated by climate change, forces the migration of families for the sake of survival. Life in a refugee camp or as a refugee in an urban setting is a permanent temporariness that defies the wholeness of individuals or communities. These statistics and realities of our world may lie beyond our comprehension, but the people who live them are not beyond our collective hearts.

Our giving to OGHS unites us with all who are in need—in places of poverty, violence, oppression and natural disaster. United with Christians across the world, the OGHS offering provides relief which goes the extra mile to respond, to stay for the long term, and to work on root causes because we are walking with those who are forced to go many extra miles simply to survive and, along the way, to thrive.

Please consider a gift to meet needs locally, nationally and globally through One Great Hour of Sharing on March 26th.


by Tarrah Vaupel

The Youth are participating in a Lenten devotional program called, “Love Life Live Lent”. Booklets were distributed at the Youth meeting on Sunday, February 26th. Senior High Bible Study has been taking a closer look at the Easter story through 4 different gospels during the Lenten/Easter season and is also watching the film “Risen”.

Thank you to everyone that attended and donated to the Potato Bar Luncheon. After expenses we raised approximately $400 for the Youth Fund! Due to budgetary constraints as we move through 2017 we will be adding additional fundraisers for the Youth Fund. It was decided at the Annual Meeting that the Assistant Youth Director salary be once again paid out of the Youth Fund. If anyone has any idea for adding fundraisers to help us offset this cost and continue with at least the current level of programming, please let me know immediately! Please also prayerfully consider making an additional contribution in your Sunday offering specifically for the Youth Fund in addition to your regular giving.

After 2 months of not being able to connect with Shannondale UCC staff I decided to go in a different direction. We will be going to DuBois Center June 5th through June 9th to work on various service projects at DuBois as they prepare for their Summer Camp season to begin. The projected total per person before Youth Fund offset will be $275. More details and a firm cost will be available within the next month after 2 more fundraisers and the schedule/itinerary is finalized. I do anticipate the actual cost per attendee to be significantly less for Youth Group members. Please let me know by

April 2nd if you are planning to attend the trip!

After a parent suggestion I have implemented the use of “Remind 101” text messaging service for both Youth Group and Senior High Bible Study reminders. This program has been well received, is user friendly, FREE and is being utilized as yet another communication tool in an effort to reach more people and keep them informed. I think that the only thing that we aren’t doing to communicate with parents, church members, etc...is sending smoke signals ;)

Youth Schedule 2017 All dates and events are subject to change

Youth Group Meetings begin at 11:00am on designated Sunday’s

March 26th Senior High Bible Study and Youth meeting April 9th Senior High Bible Study and Easter Egg Hunt after worship April 23rd Senior High Bible Study and Youth meeting April 28th Youth Group Lock-In 8pm-8am April 30th Senior High Bible Study and Taco Bar fundraiser May 28th Scavenger Hunt (location pending)



DUBOIS CAMP SCHOLARSHIPS

Scholarship money is available for DuBois summer campers from our church. If you plan to attend and want to receive a scholarship, please notify Colleen Gass, bookkeeper, at the church office before you send in an application. Once the number of requested scholarships is determined, you will be notified by the Board of Christian Education as the amount provided by the church. Scholarships are funded by the BOCE budget and the 5th Sunday offering taken on January 29th.

CAMP PROMO SUNDAY

The Sunday School will sponsor activities for “Camp Promo Sunday” on Sunday, March 26th. Instead of coming to the sanctuary for the opening of worship, children should go directly to their Sunday School classroom at 9:45am. Please dress casually that day, as activities will be outside (weather permitting). The day is intended to give children a “sample” or

taste of the kinds of activities that occur at summer camp at DuBois.

DUBOIS CAMP BROCHURES

Brochures for summer camp at DuBois are available in the narthex. You can also view the brochure online by visiting: http://duboiscenter.org/summer-camps/


YOUTH MISSION TRIP TO DUBOIS CENTER

Members of our Youth Group will be going to DuBois Center this June 5th-9th to help prepare our Illinois South Conference Camp and Retreat Center (DuBois Center) for their summer camp season. At this time, we are anticipating the all inclusive cost per youth/adult to attend the trip to be $275. The Youth have been diligently working over the past year to raise funds for their 2017 mission trip to help offset a portion of these fees. Please prayerfully consider making a donation in addition to your regular giving to support the Youth Fund and their 2017 mission trip. If you are an adult and are interested in attending all or part of this trip to work on various projects at DuBois center, please speak with Tarrah. We are looking for at least one or two adults with carpentry experience.

NEW ALARM CODES

All key holders MUST individually contact the church office to obtain the new building alarm code. The new code will be effective April 1st, 2017 and all current alarm codes will be deactivated. Thank you in advance for your cooperation.


Kid’s Stuff




LENTEN LUNCHES AT THE PARSONAGE by Pastor Martha

There are spaces available on March 22nd for the Lenten Soup Lunch I host at the parsonage during Wednesdays in Lent. Lunch will begin at 12:00pm noon and end at1:30pm. You must sign up ahead of time (a maximum of only 7 guests per week so we can eat in the upstairs dining room). A sign-up sheet is available in the narthex, contact me or call the church office to make a reservation. There is no need to bring anything and no cost-- just come ready to share a meal, fellowship with church friends and join in conversation about the Lenten spiritual journey. I always look forward to sharing this time with you!

SUNDAY SCHOOL LENTEN OFFERING by BOCE

This year the Sunday School classes wil be collecting money and paper products for Kindercottage. Brenda Crisp has said that they are in need of paper towels, Kleenex, wipes and hand sanitizer. Please bring your donations to the Sunday School rooms. As we look to “Love Life, Live Lent and Be the Change” this Lenten season, this is an easy way to do something good for those that need our help. #LLLL17

ITALY TRIP MEETING by Pastor Martha

At our spaghetti lunch meeting at the parsonage on Sunday, March 19th we will discuss the itinerary and excursions (guided tour of the Vatican Museum and Sistine Chapel in Rome; gondola ride and boat trip to Burano in Venice; guided tour to see the statue of David in the Uffizzi Gallery in Florence, etc.). Final payment for the trip is due on March 25th. We are discussing arrangements for transportation to Lambert Airport before our early flight on Sunday, May 28th and for pick-up late on Friday, June 9th. We will be learning some Italian phrases and discussing other information. If you have any questions about the trip, please contact me.


Please keep these church family members in prayer…

Kay Pearce Donna Bender Bob Sommer Carol Brasel Brenda Crisp Carol Walker Colleen Hamm Carol Dressel Lucas Ellis DJ Eckert Bob & Darline Burgdorf

(Others who are in time of illness/recovery but are private and do not wish to have their name published.)

If you have a prayer request, please fill out a card in the pew pocket and place it in the offering basket on Sunday morning or call/email the church office with your prayer request. Please indicate if you are asking for public prayers from the congregation or confidential prayers from Pastor Martha.

CONDOLENCES

Gloria Mae Puckett passed to life eternal on February 15, 2017. Her funeral was held on February 21, 2017 at Wolfersberger Funeral Home with Rev. Dr. Martha Thierheimer officiating. Condolences are shared with all of the Puckett family members.

Charles Frederick Schutte passed to life eternal on March 8, 2017. His fu-neral on March 14, 2017 at Schildknecht Funeral Home with Rev. Dr. Martha Thierheimer officiating. Condolences are shared with Denise, Jim, J.B. and Tara Carroll.

Dorothy Mae Mueller passed to life eternal on March 10, 2017. Her funeral is on Saturday, March 18, 2017 at Lake View funeral home, officiated by an ordained relative. Condolences are shared with her family.

BIRTH ANNOUNCEMENT

We welcome Lillian Grace Schaeffer, born on Friday, March 10th. She was 9 lbs. 13 oz and 19 ¾ inches. Congratulations to proud parents Christina and Justin Schaeffer, siblings William Boddy and Olivia Schaeffer, and grandparents Lynette and Don Schaeffer.


CONTACT US FOR A HOSPITAL VISIT by Pastor Martha

If you or a family member is hospitalized, please remember it is necessary to call the church office to notify or contact me directly if you would like a visit. The local hospital system of keeping a record of our church members or calling to notify us has not been reliable for a long time. I have shared many times that since the opening of Memorial East, there have been constant problems at both Memorial hospitals during the admission process with getting members listed under our church (even when they are given the name of our church, those names are being left off our church list or are mistakenly listed under the wrong church). As a result, when office staff or I call the hospitals we are being given incorrect information and told no one from our church is there. There also have been repeated problems with chaplains telling families they will call to notify the church but then they do not. I have reported issues many times to the chaplaincy office, to no avail. Just this month there were multiple occurrences where Memorial Hospital information for our members was incorrect and chaplains did not notify. If I am contacted and made aware of a member being hospitalized, I make an effort to visit or ask Rev. Christy Eckert to visit if I am unavailable. There is no system for St. Louis, Maryville or other hospitals to list members, and the system for our local hospitals is no longer functional. Thank you to all those who contacted me or the church this month so I could visit! Thank you to everyone for understanding that your call/text/email to me or to church office is the only way to ensure that we have the information to make a visit.

OFFICE CLOSED

The church office will be closed on Good Friday, April 14th and on Monday, April 17th for staff Easter holiday.


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MUSIC NOTES by Dr. Phil Wilhelm

Thanks to all the amazing volunteers who helped make our scrapbook fundraiser a success. We raised a decent amount of funds that will benefit the Special Music Fund. As voted on at the Annual Meeting the Special Music fund this year will be used to purchase anything and everything needed in Music Ministry. This goes for music, mallets, gloves, etc. as well as the Music Assistants salary and any special musicians we bring it. While I will certainly be working on recycling some music for the fall and cutting down on the number of summer musicians (as requested by the consistory), we will need to hire musicians (for example the patriotic service) and purchase a few things here and there throughout the year. Any donations to this fund, on top of your normal General Fund giving, is greatly appreciated.

Here is what is happening in the next few weeks: Sunday, March 19 No Choir Rehearsal Praise will rehearse at 8:00 a.m. and perform in worship Bell Choir will rehearse after worship Sunday, March 26 Choir Rehearsal @ 8:30 a.m. Bells will perform in worship and rehearse after Sunday, April 2 Choir Rehearsal @ 8:30 a.m. and perform in worship Bell Rehearsal after worship Sunday, April 9 - Palm Sunday Choir Rehearsal @ 8:30 a.m. Bell Rehearsal after worship

Good Friday 7:00 p.m. service will feature music from the Chancel Choir, Bell Choir as well as selections from Dr. Phil, Connor and Gracelynn.

Sunday School Choir Performances by Deb Horrell

April 9 & May 14 On these dates we will meet at 9:20, upstairs in the South room.

Since April 9th is Palm Sunday, students may wear any appropriate church attire.


MATTERS NEWS by Mary Kay Maskal

In February the MATTERS moms and tots learned about being mindful and present through breathing and meditation. Thank you to Lisa Thompson-Gibson for leading! Don't be shy! We'd love for YOU to join us in March. We generally meet the third Friday of the month at 6:00. Our next gathering is Friday, March 17. We will have dinner together at 6:00. We are done by 8:30. Childcare is also available. While we do have activities for the moms and tots to do together, you certainly don't have to bring your tot. We have several women who attend from time to time without their children for various reasons. We hope to see you in March.



BOOK CLUB by Kathy Scott

The next Book Club gathering is scheduled for Tuesday, March 21st at 6:30 pm. We will meet at Betty Kueker’s home. Please RSVP to Betty by Sunday, March 19th. Bring a dessert or appetizer and book recommendations.

Small Great Things by Jodi Picoult (481 pages; 2016; recommended by Cindy Lewis) Ruth Jefferson is a labor and delivery nurse at a Connecticut hospital with more than twenty years’ experience. During her shift, Ruth begins a routine checkup on a newborn, only to be told a few minutes later that she’s been reassigned to another patient. The parents are white supremacists and don’t want Ruth, who is African American, to touch their child. The hospital complies with their request, but the next day, the baby goes into cardiac distress while Ruth is

alone in the nursery. Does she obey orders or does she intervene? Ruth hesitates before performing CPR and, as a result, is charged with a serious crime. Kennedy McQuarrie, a white public defender, takes her case but gives unexpected advice: Kennedy insists that mentioning race in the courtroom is not a winning strategy. Conflicted by Kennedy’s counsel, Ruth tries to keep life as normal as possible for her family—especially her teenage son—as the case becomes a media sensation. As the trial moves forward, Ruth and Kennedy must gain each other’s trust, and come to see that what they’ve been taught their whole lives about others—and themselves—might be wrong.

The Whistler by John Grisham (386 pages; 2016; recommended by Betty Kueker) We expect our judges to be honest and wise. Their integrity and impartiality are the bedrock of the entire judicial system. We trust them to ensure fair trials, to protect the rights of all litigants, to punish those who do wrong, and to oversee the orderly and efficient flow of justice. But what happens when a judge bends the law or takes a bribe? It’s rare, but it happens. Lacy Stoltz is an investigator for the Florida Board on Judicial Conduct. She is a lawyer, not a cop, and it is her job to respond to complaints dealing with judicial misconduct. After nine years with the Board, she knows that most problems are caused by incompetence, not corruption.

But a corruption case eventually crosses her desk. A previously disbarred lawyer is back in business with a new identity. He now goes by the name Greg Myers, and he claims to know of a Florida judge who has stolen more money than all other crooked judges combined. And not just crooked judges in Florida. All judges, from all states, and throughout U.S. history. What’s the source of the ill-gotten gains? It seems the judge was secretly involved with the construction of a large casino on Native American land. The Coast Mafia financed the casino and is now helping itself to a sizable skim of each month’s cash. The judge is getting a cut and looking the other way. It’s a sweet deal: Everyone is making money.

But now Greg wants to put a stop to it. His only client is a person who knows the truth and wants to blow the whistle and collect millions under Florida law. Greg files a complaint with the Board on Judicial Conduct, and the case is assigned to Lacy Stoltz, who immediately suspects that this one could be dangerous. Dangerous is one thing. Deadly is something else.


HELP NEEDED by Krista VanDriel

Hey everyone it's that time of year again to start collecting tab tops off of soda cans, beer cans, and/or soup cans. My Co-Ed Nation Service Fraternity Alpha Phi Omega - Epsilon Pi from SIUE are collecting these tab tops to go to the Ronald McDonald TabTop Pandemonium on May 6th 2017. Last year we weighed in at 42 pounds. This year our goal is 50

pounds!! Please help us reach our goal. Because I am very busy at school, I will not be at church as often as I would like, so please feel free to contact my mom, Jean VanDriel, or myself and we can set up a time to meet with you to collect! Thank you again for helping out and feel free to contact me with any question at [email protected].

MARY & MARTHA SOCIETY by Pat Garner

The M & M’s had their regular meeting on March 2nd in Fellowship Hall. We discussed a variety of topics including our fundraisers. We have a McAlister fundraiser planned for Wed., May 3rd. Annette is checking on the Cold Stone fundraiser in July. Sandy checked into Panera/Bread Co. as another possible fundraiser. The sign-up sheet for the Easter breakfast was passed around. More information will be coming in the next couple of weeks. If you are able to prepare a casserole or two, let either Carolyn Weber or Pat Garner know. We will do the set up for the breakfast on April 15th at 9 a.m.

The program for the evening was Art with Allie. Everyone had a great time! Several ladies were surprised that they could paint and may have found a new hidden talent. Allie shared her experience and knowledge with the ladies as we worked on our individual projects. At the end of the evening, everyone had a picture to take home and share! Our next meeting is May 4th. All ladies of the church are invited to attend.

THANK YOU

Thanks be to God for the strength given me to attend the Lenten Service on Wednesday, March 1st. I have missed my church and my church family so very much. I want to thank my loving family and other caring relatives, Pastor Martha and my church family for the visits, calls, cards and prayers of loving concern. It was so good to be back home (my church) an in the presence of all my loved ones. I feel very humble but so very blessed. In Christian love, Colleen Hamm


WOMEN’S GUILD by Debbie Fohne

Next meeting will be April 13th at 1:00pm.

Hostesses will be Lois Sexauer and Karen Hangsleben

ALTAR FLOWERS NEEDED

Thank you to everyone that has signed up for altar flowers for 2017. The flower calendar is posted outside the church office on a bulletin board. MANY dates are available for 2017 including 3/26. Please sign up or call Tarrah at the church office 632-3496. Arrangements can be made through Steven Mueller florist. If you have any questions, please contact the church office or speak to Tarrah.

BULLETIN DEDICATIONS

How many times have you gone to the flower calendar to sign up for altar flowers to celebrate a special event or to honor the legacy of a lost loved one only to find that the date you would like to reserve has already been taken? The Consistory has recently ap-proved dedicating our Sunday morning bulletins in the same manner as altar flowers. There is a calendar outside the church office to sign-up for bulletin dedications with a suggested donation of $20. ($25 for special bulletins; Easter, etc...)

DEADLINES FOR BULLETIN AND NEWSLETTER

The deadline for the worship bulletin insert is Tuesday at noon each week, for brief information submitted about our own church activities for the bulletin insert (space is extremely limited). Info goes to the church office: [email protected]. Deadline for the church newsletter is noon on the 2nd Wednesday of every month; info goes to the church office. Longer articles and flyers about our church activities are accepted for the newsletter.


206 W. Adams Street

O’Fallon, IL 62269

618.632.3496

The Visitor is published once a month for members and friends of the O’Fallon United Church of Christ. Items for the next issue of The Visitor should be at the church office or e-mailed to: [email protected] no later than

noon on Wednesday April 19th, 2017.


206 West Adams Street (Corner of Cherry & Adams), O’Fallon, IL 62269 Phone: 632-3496 Fax: 632-3488 E-mail: [email protected] Web site: ofallonucc.org

Church Office hours:

Tarrah Vaupel (Secretary): Hours: Monday 8:30am-12:30pm; Tuesday thru Thursday 8:30am-3:30pm

Colleen Gass (Bookkeeper): Hours Monday & Friday 8:30am-3:30pm

(Saturday Custodial hours: 8:00am - 11:00am)

Pastor: Music Director: Dr. Phil Wilhelm, 791-6440, [email protected] Rev. Dr. Martha Thierheimer, 628-0401 Asst. Music Director: Connor Blankenship, 604-8919, [email protected] [email protected] Custodians: Julie Totten, 632.4474, Nick Bagby Youth Director: Tarrah Vaupel 558-9841, [email protected] Consistory President: Tom Gibson, Asst. Youth Director: Mary Joseph, 980-3003 [email protected] Bookkeeper: Colleen Gass, 632-3496 Office Administrative Assistant: Tarrah Vaupel, [email protected] 632-3496 Visitor Editor: Tarrah Vaupel, [email protected] 632-3496

Inside this issue:

Financials Page 2

Youth News Page 8

Kids Stuff Page 12

Mary & Martha Society Page 15

In our Church Family Page 16

Music Notes Page 18

Women’s Guild Page 23

Documents

March Visitor 2017 - Constant Contactfiles.constantcontact.com/92bba02a001/3becb5ac-d... · 8:30am-10:30am: Delivery of Easter flowers to sanctuary. 9:00am Easter Breakfast setup